Pill counting mechanism



March 15, 1938. DALT N 2,111,529.

PILL COUNTING MECHANISM Original Filed April 12, 1935 Patented Mar. 15 1938 'ATENT OFFICE 2,111,529 PILL COUNTING MECHANISM' John T. Dalton, Durham,

N. CL, assignor to Wright-Dalton Machinery Company, Durham, N. 0., a corporation of North Carolina Original application April 12, 1935, Serial No.

16,092. Divided and this 1936, Serial No. 74,219

application April 13,

2 Claims. (oi. 226 -2) The present invention relates to machines for counting articles, and more particularly to the counting of pills-and similar articles and the delivery thereof to envelopes and similar containers, the present application being a division of my prior application, Serial No. 16,092 filed April 12, 1935.

One of the primary objects of the invention is to provide novel andimproved means for counting a predetermined number of pills or the like and discharging the counted number thereof into an envelope or container.

Another object of the invention is to provide a counting mechanism of this class which may be readily adapted for the counting of pills or other small pillet-like articles of different numbers or sizes.

To these and other ends the invention consists in certain improvements and combinations and arrangements of parts all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the features of novelty being pointed out particularly in the claims at the end of this specification.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a pill counting and delivering mechanism constructed in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical section through the pill counting and delivering mechanism, taken on the line 22 in Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 3 is a horizontal section, on an enlarged scale, through the pill feeding and counting means, taken on the line 3-3 in Fig, 2;

Figure 4 is a detail section on an enlarged scale through the pill counting plate and its carrying disk, taken on the line 44 in Fig. 3, the pill counting plate being of a thickness suitable for the counting of relatively large pills; I

Figure 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 but showing a pill counting plate of a thickness suitable for counting relatively smaller pills; and

Figure 6 is a detail vertical section on an enlarged scale, taken through the central portions of the pill counting disk and washer plates, and showing the driving means for the counting disk.

Similar parts are designated by the same reference characters in the different figures.

The pill feeding means according tothe present invention comprises an open topped receptacle 5 supported on a suitable frame 2 and having preferably a sloping bottom 6 leading to an outlet i in a side thereof, and a hopper 8 into a side of which the outlet '1 leads, so that a supply of similararticlesof different sizes.

pills or the like placed in the receptacle 5 will roll or flow by gravity into the hopper. The hopper 8 is mounted on a bottom plate 9 which is secured removably to the top of the frame 2 by clamping members 10 which may be bolted or otherwise detachably secured to the frame 2. The bottom plate 9 is formed with a circular recess II in which a circular disk I2 is fitted rotatably, this disk forming in effect the bottom of the hopper 8 so that the pills in the hopper will rest on this disk. The disk l2 has a suitable number of counting plates l3 removably fitted therein, the disk being shown inthe present instance as provided with two counting plates located in diametrically opposite positions on the disk. Each counting plate, which is preferably circular in form and is fitted into a circular opening in the disk, is of the same thickness as the disk so that its upper and lower faces will be flushwith those of the disk, and in order to facilitate the flush mount.- ing of .the counting plates in the disk, the counting plates are preferably provided near their upper surfaces with circular shoulders or flanges (4 to set in correspondingly shaped grooves or recess'esin the holes in the disk, and each counting plate may be removably secured in the disk by a screw l5 threaded in the disk and having a head which overlapsv an edge of the counting plate. Each counting plate is provided with holes or pockets 1B which extend entirely therethrough from its upper to its lower surface. The number of pockets or holes in each counting plate may be variedto accord with the number of pills or articles to be counted for delivery for example into .each envelope or container, for which purpose,

counting plates having different numbers of pockets or holes therein may be fitted interchangeably into the openings in the disk.

The counting plates and the diskl2 may also be of different thicknesses to conform with pills or For example, in Fig. 4 the counting plate and disk are relatively thick and are suitable for the counting of relatively large pills. In this instance, the disk 12 rests directly on a circular anti-friction washer plate ll which may rest on the bottom of the circular recess H, and in Fig. 5 the counting plate and itsv carrying disk are relatively thin and adapted for the counting of relatively smaller pills or similar articles, the counting plate and disk in this instance resting onv a plate 18 which isinterposed between the disk 12 and plate I! to compensate for the reduced thickness of the disk and support the upper surface of the thinner disk. at the same level as that at which the upper surface of a relatively thicker disk is supported. The plates l1 and 18 may be held from rotation in the recess II in any suitable manner, as for example by a frictional fit of their peripheries within the periphery of said recess, and these plates are provided with central openings l9. Thus by interchangeably fitting disks and counting plates of different thicknesses in the bottom of the hopper, using the additional plate [8 when a relatively thin disk is used, the machine may be readily adapted to the counting of pills or similar articles of different sizes.

Since the upper sides of the disk 12 and counting plates l3 will be exposed within the hopper 8, pills therein will enter and fill the pockets IS in the counting plates, and the pills contained in the counting plates will discharge by gravity therefrom when the disk rotates into a position to bring each counting plate above a discharge opening 20 formed in the bottom plate 9 and plate I! and also plate [8 when such is employed. The portion of the hopper 8 above the discharge opening 20 is separated from the remainder of the hopper by a partition plate 2|, so that as each counting plate reaches a position above the discharge opening 20, it will discharge the pills contained therein but pills contained in the rest of the hopper will be prevented from passing directly through the counting plate into the discharge opening. The disk I2 is rotated continuously during the operation of the machine by a gear 22 supported rotatably by a stub shaft 23 journalled in a vertical bearing in the top of the frame 2, this gear projecting upwardly into the central opening l9 in the plate I! and having a pair of pins 24 on its upper side to extend through the central openmg or openings IS in the plate I! or plates I! and I8 and engage in a pair of apertures 25 formed in the center of the disk, these pins and apertures providing a driving connection between the disk and the gear 22 which enables different disks to be applied interchangeably and these pins and apertures will compensate for the use of disks of different thicknesses. The gear 22 is driven from a cooperating gear 25, the latter being mounted on a vertical driving shaft 21 journalled in the frame 2. In order to interrupt the feeding of pills, should such become desirable while the machine is being operated for adjusting or other purposes, a cutoff slide 28 is fitted to operate in a recess in the bottom plate 9 so that it will slide over the top of the disk I2 and the counting plates therein, this slide, when in closed position preventing the entrance of pills from the hopper 8 into the pockets in the counting plates. The removable mounting of the hopper enables one disk 12 to be substituted for another or the counting plates in a disk to be replaced by others of different thickness for pills of a diiferent size or counting plates having a different number of pockets therein for counting pills of diiferent numbers.

The pill counting means described operates to discharge a counted number of pills into the discharge opening 20 each time a counting plate is brought into position above this opening by the rotation of the disk, and means is provided to receive each counted number of pills and to hold them in the form of a charge ready for discharge, as for example, into an envelope. In the present instance, a filling tube 30 is mounted beneath the discharge opening 20 for this purpose, this tube having a hopper 3| at its upper end positioned beneath the opening 20 to receive the pills therefrr. m, and the tube carries a gate or trigger 32 which is pivoted thereon at 33 and has an end which is movable through an opening in a side of the tube into a position within the tube to intercept and hold the pills discharged into the tube. The tube is mounted to reciprocate vertically so that it may be lowered into an opened envelope when the same is placed in filling position beneath it, the tube being mounted for this purpose on a slide 34 which is reciprocable in a vertical guide 35, which is fixed to the frame 2, the slide being operatively connected to a lever 36 which is pivoted at 31 on the frame 2, said lever carrying a roller 38 which operates in a groove 39 of appropriate form in a cam 40, the latter being fixed on a shaft 4l journalled in suitable bearings in the frame 2. The trigger or gate 32 carries a roller 42 which is arranged to ride on a stationary cam 43 mounted in fixed position on the frame 2, so that while the tube 30 is in its raised position, the gate 32 will be in its closed position within the tube to intercept and hold pills introduced into the tube, and when the tube 30 is lowered, the roller 42 riding on the cam 43 will retract the gate 32 from the tube and thereby release the pills so that they may drop by gravity from the tube, for example, into the envelope.

While in the present instance, two counting plates are carried by the rotating disk of the pill counting device so that a counted number of pills will be discharged into the tube 30 at each half revolution of the disk, the cam 48 is driven so that it will make one revolution for each half revolution of the disk, the shaft 4! of this cam being provided for this purpose with a gear 44 which is fixed thereon and meshes with a gear 45 of twice its diameter fixed on a shaft 46 which is suitably journalled in the frame 2, the shaft 46 being connected by equal size bevel gears 41 to the drive shaft 21 for the disk l2, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The mechanism may be driven from any suitable source of power, as for example, from an envelope filling machine on which it may be mounted, by a sprocket chain 50 which cooperates with a sprocket wheel fixed on the cam shaft 4!.

The operation of the counting mechanism as shown is as followsz-Assuming the hopper 8 contains a supply of the pills or like articles and the cut-off slide 28 is retracted so that the pills rest on the rotatable disk l2, and that the cam shaft 4| is being driven continuously, the pills in the hopper 8 will drop into and fill,,the pockets 16 in the pill-counting plate I3 while the same is beneath that portion of the hopper in which the pills are contained, and rotation of the disk i2 carrying the pill-counting plate, through the gears 44 and 45, 41, and 25, and 26, will bring this plate above the discharge opening 26, whereupon the pockets in this counting plate will be carried out of communication with the pill-containing portion of the hopper and the pills contained in this plate will drop by gravity therefrom through the discharge opening 20 into the filling tube 30, which, at this time is in its elevated position, as shown in Fig. 2. While the filling tube 30 is in its elevated pill-receiving position, the gate 32 is in its closed position within the tube, as shown in Fig. 2, thereby retaining the pills in the tube, but as the tube is caused to descend by rotation of the cam 40, after receiving the pills, this gate is opened by the cam 43, thereby releasing the pills received from the counting disk so that they may drop by gravity and as a group or charge into an envelope or other receptacle that may be placed beneath the tube. The continued rotation of the cam to following the discharge of the pills therefrom restores the filling tube to its raised pill-re ceiving position ready to receive another charge of pills, and the continued rotation of the disk it brings another counting plate lit, filled with a counted number of pills, into position to discharge the pills therefrom into the filling tube, the other counting plate being at the same time returned to the pin-containing portion of the hopper to again receive a predetermined. number of pills in its pockets. Since the disk 82 in the present instance is provided With two diametrically opposite counting plates and rotates a half revolution to each revolution of the cam all, a counted number of pills will be delivered to the filling tube each time the latter is brought to its 7 upper or raised position, and a counted number of pills will be discharged from the filling tube upon each descent thereof, by the opening of the gate 32.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a pill-counting machine, the combination of a hopper to contain a supply of the pills, a circularly-recessed bottom plate below the hopper having a discharge opening therein, a pair of driving gears recessed in the upper side of said bottom plate, a circular disk fitted into the recess in the bottom plate and having pocketed counting plates a thickness corresponding to the thickness of the disk, a washer plate insertable into the recess in the bottom plate above one of said driving gears and beneath said disk, and means on the other of said gears forming a splined connection with said disk for rotating it.

2. A pill-counting machine according to claim 1 wherein said circular disk is provided With apertures adjacent to its center and said counting plates are located in said disk between said apertures and the periphery of said disk, and said splined connection comprises pins on one of said driving gears removably engageable in said apertures in the disk.

JOHN T. DALTON. 

